Course Description
This course presents an overview of logistics, as applied to international trade. Topics include: purchasing, inventory management, warehousing, transportation, distribution and integrated planning. The emphasis will be on small- to medium-sized businesses involved in finished-goods shipping.
Course Content
- Introduction
- description of all aspects of logistics
- operational issues and problems in International Logistics
- Purchasing
- buying
- electronic data processing (EDP)
- electronic order quantities (EOQ)
- order forecasting
- customer service
- Inventory Management and Production
-
- maintenance
- just in time (JIT)
- materials requirement processing (MRP)
- production demand linkages
- Warehousing
- materials handling
- storage systems
- facilities location planning
- warehouse layout and design
- Transportation
- materials handling
- modes of transport
- intermodal shipping
- packaging
- distribution
- Customs
- movement of goods across national boundaries
- Integrated Planning
- Delivery Procedures
- packaging and labelling for the foreign market
- transportation issues
- receiving the shipment
- Customs Valuation Procedures
- import legislation and rules
- the D-memoranda
- the harmonized system
- tariff codes
- calculating value and duty
- tariff treatment
- general interpretive rules (GIR)
- the importance of classification
- Canada Customs Clearance Procedures
- release on minimum documentation (RMD)
- pre-arrival release system (PARS)
- frequent importer release system (FIRST)
- future trends
Learning Activities
Lectures, seminars and case studies, with focus on small to medium sized business operations. Visits will be made to local businesses and guest speakers will address the class.
Means of Assessment
| Cases (3-5) |
30% |
| Project |
20% |
| Midterm Examination |
20% |
| Final Examination |
30% |
| |
100% |
Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, the successful student should be able to:
- describe the functions and activities involved in logistics;
- analyze logistics problems and suggest optimal solutions;
- develop logistics plans for shipping of goods to international destinations;
- develop a "paper trail" involving legal, statutory, insurance, customs clearance and shipping/distribution documentation.
Textbook Materials
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students
Coyle, J. J. The Management of Business Logistics, Latest Ed. West Publishing Company.